To Dance with Death
by Lord Winterman
Summary: With the defeat of the insurgent, peace has come to the world at last. But a disturbance in the South draws Avatar Zuko from his home to investigate, unprepared for the journey he is about to begin, and the answers to unasked questions he is about to face…


**A/N: And now we're back, peoples! The Legend of Zuko continues in **_**To Dance with Death**_**.**

**If you're continuing from **_**Finding Yourself**_**, you're in the right place.**

**If you're new to the series, don't be surprised if there are some…deviations from canon materials, both from A:TLA and Bleach. **

**In any case, this is a crossover between **_**Avatar: Finding Yourself **_**(an AU fan-fic of Avatar: the Last Airbender where Zuko becomes that Avatar) and Bleach. **

The Story So Far...

When Aang went under the ice at the beginning the Century War, the Spirit of the Avatar sought out the next nation in the cycle. From the Water Tribe to the Earth Kingdom, each time, the would-be Avatar died before ever realizing their greater purpose. That was, until the cycle returned to the Fire Nation with Zuko, a prince banished from his homeland with one condition for his return: to find any trace of the Avatar. After three years of searching, he found the Last Airbender, the presumed Avatar everyone sought.

Book One:

Chasing his quarry across the globe, the exile found more evidence of a new Avatar. Facing numerous trials and attempts on his life, he caught up to Aang at the North Pole, ambushing him behind Water Tribe lines amidst a siege by Admiral Zhao. In a struggle between the forces of nature, Zuko and Aang were able to defeat Zhao and repel the invaders, the former escaping with the fleeing survivors with his uncle.

Book Two:

Becoming aware of his new role, Zuko resumed his search for Aang and his friends with a renewed purpose. Along the way, he confronted a dark spirit lingering within the recesses of his soul, discovering a new power in his possession, with a promise to learn more. Arriving in the next city, he met Toph Beifong, a blind earthbender whom he enlisted as his next teacher. Together, they caught up with the airbender and his friends, crossing paths with Zuko's sister, Azula, who sought the Avatar for her own ends. After driving her away, Zuko revealed what he knew, and joined forces with his former enemies.

While preparing to transfer the remainder of the Avatar's spirit to Zuko, the group pooled their resources for a viable strategy to swiftly and cleanly bring an end to the war: an invasion on the day of the eclipse, when the Fire Nation would be at its weakest. Bringing their case directly to the Earth King, the situation became dire when Azula convinced the Dai Li to launch a coup. In the ensuing battle, Zuko entered the Avatar State, and destroyed the Earth King's palace.

Book Three:

With Ba Sing Se in Fire Nation hands, rallying the remaining forces became paramount. While the preparations for the coming invasion continued, Avatar Zuko and his allies prepared him for the eventual showdown with his father. When the day came, despite the setbacks, Zuko successfully confronted the Fire Lord and struck him down, leaving the throne to Azula.

However, the ceasefire was not to last. In a sudden attack on the Earth Kingdom, Azula betrayed the nascent peace agreement, forcing Zuko to kill her as well. While others cleaned up the destruction left in Azula's Blitz, Aang set off on his own to uncover what the Air Nomads may have left behind.

Book Four:

As the armistice continued, Iroh assumed the throne of the Fire Nation and Zuko began his search for Earth King Kuei, presumed missing since the fall of Ba Sing Se. With the aid of his friends, he overcame the trials of the erstwhile Fire Nation colonies, warding off a rogue Earth Kingdom battalion, the spirit Old Iron, and a mysterious insurgent known as the Ash Wraith, who was set on resuming the war at any cost. In the final clash, Zuko found the Earth King, and defeated the leader, revealed to be none other than Jet, the former leader of the Freedom Fighters.

Lead-up/Description:

With the defeat of the insurgent, peace has come to the world at last. But a disturbance in the South draws Avatar Zuko from his home to investigate, unprepared for the journey he is about to begin, and the answers to unasked questions he is about to face…

_**To Dance with Death**_

**Book Five: Beyond**

Definition:

On or to a farther side

In addition; Besides

Back in the Saddle

…_We are making good time for the weather we have been facing as of late. The stay at Kiyoshi Island was brief, but nonetheless enjoyable. Still, I must say that my welcome to the Southern Water Tribes should prove less awkward for the parties involved._

_Tell Kiyi I'll bring her a souvenir from the South Pole. I will see you when I return._

_With affection,_

_Zuko_

[TDWD]

_Southern Water Tribe, 1 year After Century War (5 months after the Signing of the Yu Dao Treaty)_

The ship creaked as it crashed against Antarctic waves. Zuko barely noticed them in his quarters, reading through a letter he had drafted to send home once he arrived at the South Pole.

Between settling in with Mai and aiding with the reconstruction efforts, he would have preferred to stay close to home. However, a spiritual disturbance in the south had demanded his attention, especially one of such magnitude. As the Avatar, he was obligated to respond, loathe as he was to leave.

The intercom buzzed to life. _"Sir, our destination is on the horizon."_

"Thank you, Captain." Zuko replied. Finishing the sentence he had been writing, he dusted the pages and slipped them back into his journal, sliding it into his pocket, then threw a fur-lined coat over his shoulders.

Navigating the interior of the ship, he returned the crew's greetings as he passed them by. In some ways, he missed the smaller ship he had during his exile. Still, the larger, more modern ship had amenities the old boat had lacked.

Emerging topside, tugged his collar upward and tucked his hood over a little more, warding off the blast of cold air that hit him squarely in the face. Firebending and airbending were all well and good for keeping him from freezing, but a good coat and a full head of hair did wonders all on their own.

Icebergs drifted by in the distance.

"Avatar Zuko," the captain said as he came into view.

"Captain Jee."

That earned a laugh from the older man. "I not sure if I'll ever get used to that."

"I think you were well overdue for a promotion." Looking out to sea, a smirk tugged at the sides of his mouth. "Crazy to think that it was only about a year ago when we were last here."

The captain grimaced. "Yes, I remember leaving something of an impression."

"Don't worry, Jee," Zuko replied, patting the captain on the shoulder. "We're here by invitation this time. And if anyone should be worried about poor reactions, it should be me."

Zuko steadied himself as another wave crashed into his ship. All of his traveling over the years had hammered those instincts, and the Avatar doubted they would ever leave, even if he were to spend another year ashore.

Looking up through the dusting of lightly falling snow, Zuko spied the shoreline of the Southern Water Tribe. The city had practically exploded in size and development since he had last been around, waterbenders providing an efficient and versatile workforce that they had been without for far too long. Seeing the watchtower stretching up above the harbor, Zuko smirked.

The ship had scarcely docked when Zuko jumped to the pier, surprising the approaching welcome party.

"Well, look who's back?" the leading delegate said.

"I imagine your village had had enough of me after my first visit." Zuko smirked as he rose from the dimple in the ice, clasping Sokka's proffered arm. "Good to see you, Sokka."

Sokka smirked. "Same. How you been holding up?"

"Better than I remembered. How about you? How's Mai doing?"

Zuko looked to the side. "Agitated."

"Because she couldn't come or because of the pregnancy?"

"Both." Zuko frowned. "Let's get this over with. I'd rather be spending time with my family."

The warrior smirked, scratching his developing goatee. "I'm all for that, but shouldn't we wait for Aang?"

"I'm already here."

The two of them slowly turned to where the Air Nomad was now standing. Registering the sudden presence, Sokka nearly jumped into the air.

"Can you stop doing that?" the Water Tribe warrior demanded.

Zuko raised an eyebrow. "Where did you come from?" he asked.

"I jumped from Appa," Aang replied, pointing up to the circling Sky Bison.

Sokka blinked. "Oh."

"Where's Katara?" the airbender continued, looking around.

"She's helping at one of our outposts," Sokka replied. "We're trying to work on solidifying trade routes with the outside world, and we need practically every waterbender we can get in order to get the operation going. And having some growing room on hand is good, too."

"Right," Zuko murmured. "So, what have you got for us?"

Sokka opened his mouth, but closed it shortly after. "Better if you see it for yourself.

[TDWD]

Following the road out of town, Zuko could see a beam of light pierced the clouds, lighting up the sky and casting a glow across the snow, turning the landscape from a sterile white to an ethereal blue. As they drew close, Zuko spotted a familiar earthbender perched on a rise of ice, watching the lights with a steady intensity.

"What's Toph doing here?" Zuko asked.

"She showed up about a week after it started," Sokka replied. "Not sure how she heard about it before we got the word out, but she's been here ever since."

"Doing what?"

"She'll just watch the thing for hours. Nearly had to drag her back to camp the other day."

"That must have been fun. I take it you managed to convince her."

"Eventually. Mostly just to get her out of the cold."

Toph's gazed turned from the beam and to the newcomers. She hopped to her feet and skidded down the rise to meet them, bringing attention to the boots she was wearing. More surprising was how she was still able to navigate on her own.

"I was wondering when you'd show up," Toph drawled.

"Had to make sure things were settled on the home front before departing," Zuko answered. "Didn't expect to find you here. What happened to the Academy?"

"Still going. I got Smellerbee's keeping an eye on things in my absence, and Ho Tun can handle directing the training in the meantime."

"Surprised you would let someone else take over. It's practically your baby."

"Yeah, well, when this thing popped up and started pinging in my head, I kinda had to for my sanity."

"And what is this?"

"Best I can tell? It's a doorway."

Sokka tensed, looking their way. "Okay…a doorway to where? And could someone theoretically come the other way."

"Don't know." Toph shrugged, then let Aang pass to approach the pulsating beacon.

"It's blocked," the airbender said.

Zuko walked up to the thing, curious. The pulsing became more pronounced, increasing in rate the closer they got.

"Steady!" Sokka called out.

Reaching out, Zuko's hand tingled, fingers hovering over the surface of solid light.

"Hey, Zuko, I think-"

Time stood still, the words frozen in Aang's mouth. While Zuko's perception was normal, able to take in the moment, his body was paralyzed. The bubble expanding outward, enveloping Aang completely. To his side, Toph had an arm covering her eyes before she disappeared. Zuko's eyes felt like they were burning before he followed them into the unknown.

**A/N: I'm pretty sure this entire chapter looks and sounds rough, but on top of getting this out on Leap Day, I'm trying to re-rail my writing habits. Hopefully, any errors are minimal and soon corrected as I get my groove back on.**


End file.
